Connector plug assembly apparatus



April 30, 1940. w. P. HERMAN CONNECTOR PLUG ASSEMBLY APPARATUS Z5 M L4 3 W April 30; 1940. w. P. HERMAN CONNECTOR -1 1m ASSEMBLY APPARATUS 1 Filed Sept. 8, 1936 a Sheets-Sheet 2 MK Q P 3 ,1 w. P. HERMAN 2,198,966 commc ron rwe Assmmmr APPARATUS Filed Sept. a. 1936 s shears-sheet s.

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cowmioron PLUG assnng arraaa'ros William P. Herman, E'rovidence, lit. 3., assignor to Elcetrix Corporation, llawtuchet, R. L, a corporation of Rhode Island Application September 8, 1936, Serial No. 99,848

flfiiClaims. (Cl. 29-84) My present invention relates to the manufaclng laterally displaced portions, forming locking ture of connector plugs, and has particular refershoulders, in plug bases having corresponding ence to apparatus for assemblying contact prongs slots pas ageway whereby the displaced p in plug bodies. tions securely lock the prongs in the bases It is the principal object, o my vention to against removal. The preferred construction of 6 provide a simple and readily operated apparatus base a e p s s ta e assembly for assembling contact prongs in plug bodies t n s ho in my Copending applicatmn made of resilient material, eriai No. 90,042, filed July 11, 1936, and the It is a further object of my inv tio to propreferred assembly steps include the soldering m vlde structure for holding a plug b d and for of the prongs to the lead wires and the insertion m drawing prongs therethrough into locking engageof the prong assembly into the plug base at the ment therewith. v wire end thereof.

It is an. additional object of my invention to To this I ve devised an apparatus in provide an apparatus for inserting prongs having which a p g bsse y be sell, two D arms 5 laterally displaced portions in resilient plug bodies then being P d th ough the baseslots or pas-' having correspondingly shaped recesses, whereby sageways while the base neck is distended; the the prongs are securely locked in the bodies. Prong b y is then secured t the p arms,

With the above and other objects and advand e p l a ms are then withdraw t ou tageous features in view, my invention consists the P e o e t the p s in the base of a. novel arrangement of parts more fully disslots 0r eways, thus completin h closed in the detailed description following, in semblyconjunction with the accompanying drawings, Referring to the drawings, the plug base and more specifically defined in the claims ap is illustrated in 3, and h w Prong pended thereto. or passageways 2|, see Fig. 3a, having a narrow In the drawings, portion 22, whereby locking shoulders 23, 24 ,are 25 Fig. 1 is a plan view of the nove apparatus; provided at each end thereof, the two slots or Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof; passageways extending into a common cable re- Fig. 3 is a perspective'view of a preferred form ce ving neck slot or passa way 5- T prongs of plug body; 26. see Fig. 4, have reduced portions 21, provid Fig. 3a is a sectional perspective i of Fig; 3 ing locking shoulders 28, It for cooperation with 30 on the line sot-3 thereof; the slot shoulders 23, 24, and having slots 30 at Fig. 41s a. perspective view of 9. prong assembly their upper ends f r e l fl he sol r n of Fig. 5 is a perspective i of an assembled the wires 3! of the cable .32 thereto, and openplug; ings 33 at their lower ends for facilitating as- Fig. 6 is a central vertical section on the line semblm s hereinafter described. the assembled 0-6 of Fig. 1; plug being as illustrated at 34 in Fig. 5. I

Fig. 7 is a. section on the line '|-l of Fig. 6; Referring n w to Figsand2, the novel ap Flg. 8 is a section on t line M of Fig 7; ratus 35 includes a lower casing 36 which houses Fig. 9 is a sectio al d tai on t line 9-9 of the pressure actuating mechanism, and on which Fig. 8; the assembly parts are mounted. A plug base is 40 Fig. 10 is a detail view on the lin Ill-1 seated in. a. retaining block 31 mounted on the Fig. 8; casing a'ndshaped to receive the base; two re- Fig. 11 is a perspective View of the novel pressilient pull arms 38 having hook ends 38a are sure flow control valve; mounted in a carriage 39, which is preferably of 8. 12 is a perspective view of the operating two separable Darts 39b locked in pp 5 stem therefor; relation to the pull arm ends by means of a bolt Fig. 13 is a sectional detail on the line l3-I3 e carriage having s rails 4| to slide in of Fig. 10, showing the flow passageways in the alignedeslots in the casing p. ee F 7- base; The carriage 39 has across rod 43 mounted Fig. 14. is a similarview on the line ll-l4 of thereon. see Fig. 1, carrying cam rollers 44 at the 60 fig 10; and 7 ends thereof, these cam rollers engagingtwo bent Figs, 15, 1 and 17 are diagrammatic views levers 45 which are pivoted at their front ends showing the assembly steps. 46 to a fixedcross bar 41 mounted forwardly of It has been found desirable to provide an apthe casing as by .means of side plates 410.; the paratus for facilitating assembly of prongs havrear ends 48 of the levers are spring connected 55 by means of tension springs 43 to 9. lug III secured to a cross plate II which is mounted on a r ar carri e 52 of similar formation to the carriage 39 and also slidable in the slots 42. 'Iiwo hinged toggle bars 53, see Fig. 1, are pivoted to the levers 45,and are adapted to be engaged by a contact pin 54 and by a contact plate 55 respectively mounted 'on the carriage 39 on either side ofthe toggle bars, as illustrated.

Referring now to the forward portion of Fig. 1, the levers 45 has laterally positioned plates 58 secured thereto, on which fingers 31 are pivoted, the inner ends of the fingers being formed as hooks 58, and the outer ends being pivoted to the front ends 59 of two side rods 60 which have their rear ends 6| extending through large size openingsein the cross plate II and held'against forward movement relative thereto as by nuts 62 threaded on the ends, the front ends 59 being spring connected to the ends of the fixed cross bar 41 by means of tension coil springs 63. A cam pin 64, see Fig. 6, is positioned at the rear of the retaining block, and has a reduced neckaround which the ends of the pull arms pass, and circular cams 66, 8'! for engagement by the prong ends, as hereinafter described.

The operation of the assembling parts may now he explained. The plug base is seated in the retaining block 31, where it is held against displacement, and the carriage 39 is moved to the left, the pull arms 38 entering into and passing through the base slots or passageways. As the carriage 39 moves, the cam rollers 44 force the levers 45 apart, spreading the toggle bars 53, this spreading being positively assisted by the contact plate 55, whereby the fingers 51 are swung to the dotted line position due to the movement of the pivot plates 56, and thus enter the cable neck opening of the base and spread it; the cross plate 5| shifts forwardly as shown. The initial position of the parts is shown in Fig. 15, and the second position is shown in Fig. 16; the prong assembly is now attached to the pull arms, the hook ends 38a being inserted in the openings 33, and the pull arms are retracted, thus drawing the prongs through the plug base slots or passageways. As the retraction continues, the levers 45 are pulled together by the springs 49, the toggle being broken by contact pin 54, and the fingers I! move to their initial position; the prong ends engage the cams 66, B1 and are forced laterally to disengage from the hooks 38a, see Fig. 17, whereby the completed assembly is free to be -removed from the apparatus. 55

The above described operation-is independent of any specific operating force; it is preferred; however, to utilize compressed air as the operating medium, and the structure therefor 'islllustrated in Figs. .6 to 14 inclusive.

Referring to Fig. 6, the casing 36 has a piston 10 mounted for reciprocatory movement in a cylinder H, the piston being piston ringed at both ends. A slot 12 is provided. in the upper portion of the cylinder, and a pin I3 extends through this slot and is secured to the carriage 39 and to the piston, whereby movement of the piston produces a corresponding movement of the carriage, Two fiowpassageways 14, i5 are provided in the cylinder walls, communicating with ports I6, 11 at the ends of the cylinder, and with passages 18.19 at the center which connect to a valve chamber 30. As best shown in Fig. 7, an air inlet duct 8| leads to the valve chamber, and as shown in Fig. 9, an outlet passage 82 is greases provided in the casing. A disk valve 33, see Fig. 11, has two ports 34, 3! adapted to register with the passages 13, II, a cut away portion 33 for permitting inlet flow through the duct ll, and a' recess 81 for communicatingthe passages 13, I9 with the outlet passages 32. a

The valve body has a transverse slot 33 at the rear surface thereof, in which a key 33 on a disk of an operating stem 3| seats, the operaflng valve against the rear surface and the disk 33 against the front surface of the valve chamber to obtain an efficient seal. The inlet air through port 34, passage I3,passageway l3 and port TI to the rear of the cylinder to force the piston and the assembling parts forwardly, the forward end of the cylinder exhausting through port 16,-passageway ll, passage I8, recess 81, and outlet duct 82. When the handle is turned to the right, the air flow is reversed, and the piston and the assembling parts are moved rearwardly. Two stop pins 93, 84 are provided on the valve housing to act as limit stops for the handle.

It is thus evident that. I have provided a simple, inexpensive apparatus 9 for assembling contact plugs, which has means for spreading the plug end opening apart while passing pull arms through the plug base slots or passageways, and then releasing the end opening after the prongs are drawn through the plug base. The described spring, cam, and toggle parts exert a maximum pressure to obtain the desired results, and the assembled plug has the prongs imbedded and locked therein by the cooperating formation of the prongs and the base slots, and without strain in the rubber or other resilient material of the base.

points, as for example by exerting opening pressure at four points.

Although I have described a specific apparatus suitable for a specific type of plug assembly, the parts may be designed for other types of contact plugs, the essential feature of the invention residing in the threading of prongs into a resilient plug base by utilizing the resilience of the base itself, whereby the assembled base material is not under internal strain.

The term slot or fpassageway as used in the specification and the claims denotes the entire opening through the base including the prong receiving portions 2t and the cable neck portion 25. As illustrated, a Y-shaped slot or passageway 15- formed, extending through the base, the lower or single recess receiving the cable and the spaced upper recess receiving the prongs.

I claim:

1. In an apparatus of the type described, a retainer device for retaining a base of resilient material having a slot, means for passing a pull arm through said slot, means for withdrawing said pull am through said slot to pull a contact prong therethrough, and means for distending the slot during the movements of the pull arm.

2. In an apparatus of the type described. a 7i areaeee retainer device for retaining a base of resilient material having a slot, means for passing a pull arm through said slot, means for withdrawing said pull arm through said slot to pull a contact prong therethrough, means for distending the slot during the movements of the pull arm, and means for disengaging said pull arm from said prong after the pulling movement.

3.. In an apparatus of the type described, a retainer device for retaining a base of resilient material having a slot, means for passing a pull arm through said slot, means for withdrawing said pull arm through said slot to pull a contact prong therethrough, and means for distending the slot during the movements of the pull arm including spaced fingers adapted to enter into the slot opening of the base.

4. In an apparatus of the type described, a retainer device for retaining a base of resilient material having a slot, means for passing a pull arm through said slot, means for withdrawing said pull arm through said slot to pull a contact prong therethrough, means for distending the slot during the movements of the pull arm including spaced fingers adapted to enter into the slot opening of the base, and means for disengaging said pull arm from said prong after the pulling movement.

5. An apparatus comprising a support, a re= tainer device on said support adapted to receive a base of resilient material having an opening, a

carriage mounted for reciprocating movement on said support, pull arms carried by said carriage and movable through a base positioned in said retainer device, means for distending the base;

opening, and means for reciprocating said'carriage.

6. An apparatus comprising a support, a retainer device on said support adapted to receive a base of resilient material having an opening, a carriage mounted ior reciprocat ing movement on said support, pull arms carried by said carriage and movable through a base positioned in said retainer device, means for distending the base opening, mechanism for operating said means in timed sequence to the movement of said pull arms, and means for reciprocating said carriage.

7. An apparatus comprising a support, a retainer device on said support adapted to receive a base of resilient material having an opening;

a. carriage mounted'for reciprocating movement on said support, pull arms carried by said carriage and movable through a 'base positioned in said retainer device for pulling contact prongs through said base, means for distending the base opening, fluid operated means for reciprocating said carriage and means tor disengaging said pull arms trom said prongs after the pulling movement.

8. An apparatus comprising a support, a retainer device on said support adapted to receive a base of resilient material having an opening,

a carriage mounted for reciprocating movement on said support. pull arms carried by said carriage and movable through a base positioned in said retainer device, means for distending the base opening, mechanism for operating said means in timed sequence to the movement of said pullarms, and fluid operated means for reciprocatlng said carriage.

9. An apparatus comprising a support, a retainer device on said support adapted to receive a base of resilient material having an opening, a carriage mounted for reciprocating movement on said support, pull arms carried by said car= riage and movable through a base positioned in said retainer device, means for distending the base opening means carrled by the carriage for operating the distending means in timed sequence '5 to the movement of said pull arms, and means I for reciprocating said carriage.

10. An apparatus comprising a support, a retainer device on said support adapted to receive a base of resilient material having an opening, a w

carriage mounted for reciprocating movement on said support, pull arms carried by said carriage and movable through a base positioned in said retainer device for pulling contact prongs through said base, means for distending the base opening 5 means carried by the carriage for operating the distending means in timed sequence to the movement of said pull arms, fluid operated means for reciprocating said carriage and means for disengaging said pull arms from said prongs after the g3 pulling movement.

11. An apparatus comprising a support, a retainer device on said support adapted to receivea base of resilient material having an opening,

a carriage mounted for reciprocating movement 25 on said support, pull arms carried by said carriage and movable through a base positioned in said retainer device, fingers movable into the base opening to distendthe same, means for moving said fingers in timed relation to movement of the 3g pull arms,'and means for reciprocating said carriage.

12. An apparatus comprising a support, a retainer deviceon said support adapted to receive a base of resilient material having an opening, 5

a carriage mounted for reciprocating movement on said support, pull arms carried by said carriage and movable through a base positioned in said retainer device, fingers movable into the base opening to distend the same, means for moving said fingers in response to movement of said carriage, and means for reciprocating said carriage.

13. An apparatus comprising a support, a retainer device on said support adapted to receive a base oi resilient material having an opening, a carriage mounted for reciprocating movement on said support, pull arms carried by said carriage and movable through a base positioned in said retainer device, fingers movable into the base opening to dlstend the same, means including a second carriage slidable on said support for moving said fingers, and means for moving said carriages. I

14. An apparatus comprising a support, a retainer device on said support adapted to receive 55 a base of resilient material having an opening, a carriage mounted for reciprocating movement on said support, pull arms carried by said carriage and movable through a base positioned in said retainer device, fingers movable into the base opening to distend the same, means including a second carriage slidable on said support for moving saidfingers, means for reciprocating said first carriage, and means for sliding said second carriage upon reciprocation of said first carriage.

15. In an apparatus for assembling a connector plug of resilient material having a base with a Y shaped passageway therethrough, means for holding said, base, means for distending the passageway through said base, means for reciprocating a means after the pull movement toallow said re silient base to return to its normal shape for anchoring said contact blades in said passageway.

16. In an apparatus for assembling a connector plug of resilient material having a base with a Y shaped passageway therethrough, means for holding said base, means for disten'ding the passageway through said base, means for reciprocating a pair of spaced pull arms through said distended passageway, said pull arms being adapted to pull a pair of contact blades into said eway. means for releasing said contact blades from said ,pull arms, and means for withdrawing the distending means after the pulling movement to allow said resilient base to return to its normal shape for anchoring said contact blades in said passageway.

WILLIAM P. HERMAN. 

